Ghost of A Rose: The Last Jinchuuriki
by Elenea Galad
Summary: Sasuke went to Orochimaru but met someone he didn't expect along the way. Now Naruto is missing and Akatsuki has been destroyed. Finding Naruto is suddenly the most important thing in his life but what will he find on the way? Rated for character death.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own Naruto or Blackmore's Night's Ghost of a Rose. **

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Ghost of A Rose: The Last Jinchuuriki

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Chapter 1

Itachi ran up the stairs, carrying one blond over his shoulder and the nameless sacrifice he'd chosen being dragged by one hand.

He fell against the wall as the fortress shook with the force of another blow. A few more steps and he burst through into the fortress's innermost chambers. Throwing both bodies down to the floor, he pushed the enormous locks into place and sank down to sit on the floor, gasping for breath.

Only a moment later he forced his tired body up and walked across to the table he'd set up only an hour earlier, before all hell had broken loose. Tearing a piece of cloth from his sleeve, he tied off his upper arm causing the vein to bulge in the crook of his right elbow.

An alcohol swab and a syringe filled with a purplish liquid, only years of practice kept his hand steady as he emptied the syringe into his own bloodstream. The moment he removed the cloth it was like a slap as the poison began eating away at the memories he possessed.

His hands flew through the seals that he only remembered because of the Sharingan. The Nine Tails' chakra began to glow around the young Naruto's body and then began feeding itself into a statue which had appeared, a miniature of the real one. Both of them knew something was wrong, but Itachi had the chakra to force the jutsu into working order and did so without hesitation.

He could barely see now and even though he knew his hands were moving through the seals so fast that normal shinobi couldn't see them, he felt as if he were moving through water and every breath took a lifetime.

Naruto gave a short gasp as the last of the Nine Tails' chakra left him, the beast screeching as he was literally forced out.

Standing, Itachi grabbed the sais from the table and walked towards the statue, his hands still forming seals.

His right arm was solid black and the poison was beginning to spread over his shoulder.

Kisame abandoned the battle and ran up the stairs, bypassing the labyrinth of halls and destroyed the door with a quick jutsu.

He took one look at the seals drawn into the floor in blood and Itachi standing in front of the statue and grabbed the young Uchiha around the waist after crossing the room in one bound.

Itachi screeched as the sais fell from his hands, his poisoned body being unable to resist the larger shinobi as he was dragged back.

"Let me go, Kisame! You don't know why! You would never understand!"

"That doesn't matter!"

Kisame felt his next words die in his throat as his head was forcefully pulled down. The last thing he ever saw was his partner's red eyes.

Itachi summoned the last of his strength to push Kisame's dead body away from him, the Mangekyou Sharingan blazing in the darkness. He ran back to the statue, grabbing the sais from where they lay in the dirt.

The poison reached his heart.

The Uchiha gave a sharp cry of pain as he stabbed the sais through the head of the statue.

Spurts of blood exploded from the statue, bathing Itachi in the warm liquid as spires of blazing light cracked through the statue, searing away at the darkness and through the castle, burning cloth and stone alike.

The Leader of Akatsuki felt a twitch in his heart that escalated into a sharp pain as the real statue cracked and exploded in his mind.

Everywhere and wherever they happened to be, Akatsuki members fell to the ground, dead before they hit the dirt.

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In Konoha, Sakura was waiting when they brought Neji, Chouji, and Kiba in. Shikamaru and Temari came not long after them.

She was still waiting when they brought Sasuke back. Kakashi's gaze answered her unasked question.

"I couldn't find Naruto."

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The valley green was so serene

_In the middle ran a stream so blue_

_A maiden fair in despair_

_Once had met her true love there_

_And she told him_

_She would say_

'_Promise me when you see_

_A white rose you'll think of me._

_I love you so never let go. _

_I will be your ghost of a rose.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ghost of a Rose: The Last Jinchuuriki**

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Chapter 2

Naruto sat up, holding his head.

"Ow ow ow ow…jeez, my head hurts."

"It could be worse."

Naruto looked up and saw a man sitting across a small fire from him. It was dark, the moon and stars shining down at them through the trees. The man stirred something in a pot and then sat back on his heels, watching the fire.

Naruto noted that the man actually didn't look too much older than himself with silken black hair falling loose around him and dark eyes. He was barefoot and the fish-net shirt was in tatters as well as the dark blue capris he wore.

"Oy…um, where are we?"

The man shrugged, still looking at the fire.

"What's your name?"

The man shrugged again. "I don't remember much before this morning. I woke up and found you over there in that burnt area and I carried you over here and when it got dark I made a fire. That's all I remember."

Naruto looked around and then stood. A burst of wind notified him of a rip straight down through his jacket and shirt, revealing his chest and stomach. He gasped as his hand came into contact with a perfect unblemished stomach.

The Fox Seal was gone.

"That's…"

He turned to the man by the fire. "Hey! Have you seen any guys around here in black and red?"

The man shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone."

Naruto paced. "That's doesn't make sense either. If the Nine Tails is gone, I should be dead."

The man tilted his head, watching Naruto as he paced.

Naruto stopped, raising a fist. "And I have to know what happened to Sasuke! The last thing I remember is my Rasengan doing something funny and…"

He shook his head and turned back to the man. "I can't leave you here alone but I have to go back to Konoha."

The man blinked. "You want me to go with you?"

"That's a great idea!" Naruto exclaimed. "Then we can…by the way, do you know what country we're in?"

The man shook his head. Naruto sighed.

"Well, we'll just have to work it out as we go along. And you need a name."

The man blinked as Naruto looked around, seeking inspiration. His gaze fell on the full moon.

"Mangetsu! That will be your name. You are Mangetsu."

Mangetsu blinked. "My name is Mangetsu."

Naruto nodded and pulled the surprised Mangetsu to his feet.

"Come on, let's go!"

Mangetsu ran to keep up with Naruto. "Wait, you have no idea where you're going!"

"That's what makes it fun!"

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How can Orochimaru teach you to defeat me when he cannot do so himself?_

Sasuke jerked awake, immediately regretting the movement as pain split through his left side. The blow could've killed him but it hadn't. It had been a wake-up call and Sasuke knew it.

Brought by his cry, Sakura came in, practically bursting through the door and helped him lie back down.

"Sakura…" He gasped out. "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Kakashi-sensei found you not far from the border into Rice Country. You were badly injured."

"Sakura…where's Naruto?"

"Kakashi-sensei couldn't find him. He looked everywhere but he just wasn't there."

Sasuke knew exactly where he was. He started to get up, pushing Sakura out of the way.

"If you lay a hand on him, you…" Sasuke was cut off as pain exploded in his shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke couldn't help but lean on Sakura for support. His legs shook with the effort of holding up only half of his weight and his vision blurred, nearly going dark.

"N-Naruto…"

Sasuke collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This began right after the battle between Naruto and Sasuke, for record's sake. **

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Ghost of a Rose: The Last Jinchuuriki

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Chapter 3

"You have no idea where you are…do you?"

Naruto looked at the annoyed man behind him and grinned.

"It's not the destination that matters but how you get there."

Mangetsu sighed. "I'm asking directions."

Naruto followed the ebony-haired man into a small village. On each side of the main street were shady characters and Naruto was tense. One of them stepped in front of Mangetsu and cracked his knuckles.

Mangetsu shot him a grin. "Could you tell us which road to take to get to the Country of Fire?"

The man grinned, having at least two feet and three hundred pounds on Mangetsu, let alone Naruto.

"No idea."

One of the others stepping forward spoke to the gargantuan.

"He's got to be rich to have hired a ninja escort."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

The apparent leader's grin widened as he looked down at Mangetsu.

"All right then. Hand over all of your money…both of you…and you can go. Maybe I'll even point you in the right direction."

Mangetsu's smiled wavered. "You must be mistaken. I have no…"

"Oh well…"

Naruto leapt forward to push Mangetsu out of the way of the enormous fist heading straight for him when a surge of chakra made him stop in his tracks.

"The Nine Tails…"

He could feel it, practically hear the beast's voice, but where was it? Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Mangetsu, move!"

The leader gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at his clenched fist…resting in Mangetsu's hand. He wrenched his arm forward, pushing with all his might but didn't gain an inch towards the dark-eyed man.

"I said you were mistaken."

With that, he tossed the massive ape into the nearest building. The other thugs ran forward, eager to avenge their leader, and Naruto grabbed Mangetsu's wrist, pulling him out of the fray and towards the village gate.

There the 8-foot tall gate stood shut.

"They've closed it!" Mangetsu shouted in despair.

Naruto spun around. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

As the four clones held off the thugs, the real Naruto and Mangetsu ran for the gate.

Before Naruto could think of how to get through, the whole gate burst into flame and they jumped through the center of it.

They didn't stop running until they were well away from the village and then Naruto skidded to a stop as Mangetsu fell to the side of the road and was violently sick.

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Sasuke was sick of hearing Sakura's assessments of the damage to his body. He walked with crutches to the northern gate and stared out.

A dislocated shoulder and shattered ankle among other injuries had rendered him immobile until Kakashi had found him and taken him back to Konoha. Tsunade hadn't yet said anything to him. No one had said anything to him.

Their looks had been enough. He knew what they all were thinking and now that he realized it, he couldn't stand himself.

_Just like Itachi._

He had left Konoha.

_Just like Itachi. _

He had nearly killed Naruto, his best friend.

_Just like Itachi. _

And he hadn't cared.

A dent appeared in the wall next to where he stood, cracks radiating out front where his fist has connected.

_You haven't been trying to defeat me, Sasuke. You have been trying to become me._

"I will never be you, Itachi."

"You aren't Itachi, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned. "Kakashi,"

The silver-haired Jounin picked up Sasuke's crutch from where it had fallen and handed it back to his student.

They stood there silent for several minutes before Sasuke spoke.

"When Obito died, didn't you want to kill those who killed him?"

He expected Kakashi to said 'no,' but once again he was surprised.

"I didn't want to kill them, Sasuke, I wanted to torture them. No doubt you've felt the same towards Itachi. He took everything from you."

Sasuke felt his throat close up and tried to clench down the tears he felt screaming for release.

Kakashi turned to face him. "We defeat our enemies by becoming our enemies. As you just stated, I don't think you want to become like Itachi."

Sasuke shook his head. There was another several minutes of silence then Sasuke sighed.

"How do you let go of such hatred?"

Kakashi smiled. "Find something you love with the same intensity."

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Tsunade was standing in front of her window when the medic-nin came into the room.

"I think you need to see this, Tsunade-sama."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Are you all right, Mangestu?"

Mangetsu sat as close to the fire as he could without getting burned.

"I have to say I've been better, Naruto."

Naruto added another stick to the fire and sighed.

"I really have never been too good with directions. I was always with someone else who handled that for me."

"What are you good at?"

Naruto laughed. "Ita…this guy trying to kill me once told me I was good at being loud."

Mangetsu laughed. "I'm sure that has its advantages. Your friends won't lose you."

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Kakashi pulled the box out from underneath his bed. In the small non descript cardboard box he pulled out his old ANBU uniform.

"All right, Sasuke. You rest and heal. I'll find Naruto and take care of Itachi."

"What happened earlier?"

"Earlier when?"

Naruto frowned. "Earlier when you decided to ask for directions."

Mangetsu sighed. "I'm not really sure. When that guy attacked me it's like…like something inside me came forward and took over. I could see myself holding that man back but it wasn't me. And it _hurt_. It was like I was freezing and burning to death at the same time."

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Shizune drew back the tarp on the first body, then the second, and then the third. Tsunade started to analyze the first body and then she moved on.

"Heart attack? All of them?"

Shizune nodded. "And all of them were completely healthy at the time of death. It had to be purposeful."

"But who could've killed them all? And all the same way?"

"And all at the same time."

"What?"

Shizune sighed. "Every single one of Akatsuki's members died at the exact same time…except for one."

She pulled the tarp off the final body. It was Hoshigaki Kisame.

"He died approximately thirty seconds before the rest of him. His body was found just outside the burned headquarters."

"Cause of death?" Tsunade asked.

"I haven't been able to find one. I can tell that he died almost instantly and was under high stress just before he died. Other than that, I can't tell you how he died or where, just that he died before the other."

Shizune took a deep breath. "Every Akatsuki member is here in this room…except Uchiha Itachi."

Tsunade spun around. "What? How did he escape this?"

"One theory among those of us studying these murders is that Itachi initiated this."

"Why would he do this?"

Shizune shrugged. "It's just a theory."

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"How do you see anything in that?"

Mangetsu shrugged. "I don't know but if that farmer was telling us right then we should reach Country of Fire before nightfall."

He straightened, dropping the bent twig. The burnt ground stretched out over the entire field.

"Many people died here." He whispered.

Naruto frowned. "How do you know that?"

"I just know. It's like a feeling. Like…a memory I just can't quite…reach."

Naruto patted his arm. "Don't worry. Your memory will come back someday."

Mangetsu smiled. "Sometimes I hope it doesn't. I have a feeling my past was none too bright."


End file.
